In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Chapter 197 It's just a farce

Half an hour later, Lin Haoran and Chen Shoulin met Li Mingze who came from afar.

What he didn't expect was that Li Mingze did not come alone, but brought three other important shareholders of China Gas Company with him.

As a result, Chen Shoulin's office seemed particularly crowded.

"Mr. Li, Happy New Year. I haven't had the chance to visit you yet. As a junior, I feel really embarrassed to have you come to visit me." Lin Haoran said with a smile.

After they exchanged greetings, they sat down.

"Mr. Lin, I won't beat around the bush. I think you probably know why we're here this time. That's right, we're here for the matter between Jardine Matheson and China Gas. We hope you can come in and save China Gas from falling into the hands of Jardine Matheson."

After sitting down, before Lin Haoran asked what he wanted to do, Li Mingze said it very directly.

"Mr. Li and everyone, frankly speaking, our purpose in doing business is to make money. No one is willing to help at a high price without any profit. Just like the current share price of China Gas Company, if I intervene, I can only increase my shareholding and make our equity higher than that of Jardine Matheson. But by doing so, what substantial benefits can I gain in the end?" Lin Haoran asked with a smile.

If it's a free helping hand, that would be fine, but the current stock price is so high, and there is no profit for me to enter the market, wouldn't I be a sucker?

"Mr. Lin, we have already considered this before we came here. We will naturally not let you work in vain. As long as you can make Jardine Matheson fail, we are willing to give up the controlling stake in China Gas Company and hand over the position of chairman to you. These are all things that can be signed into the agreement." Li Ming replied.

"Mr. Li, as you know, I have long had the idea of ​​acquiring China Gas Company. I approached you to buy it before, but you refused, probably because of the price.

To be honest, it is a bit difficult to snatch back the China Gas Company from Jardine Matheson now, but I may not be unable to do it because I have the confidence.

As far as I know, the four of you hold nearly 33% of the shares in total. If I want to acquire all of your shares, I will be more confident. I wonder what your requirements are for acquiring your shares? "Lin Haoran did not intend to beat around the bush and directly proposed the idea of ​​acquisition.

Simply serving as chairman is far from enough to satisfy his ambitions.

As an official, if he does not have enough shares, even if the company makes enough money, he will not get much, and in the end he will just get hard-earned money. Why bother?

What he really pursues is the absolute controlling rights of China Gas Company and owning enough shares!
"Mr. Lin, are you really sure that you can prevent foreign companies from taking over the China Gas Company?" Li Ming asked solemnly.

By now, Li Mingze had actually long since lost interest in controlling the shares. His minimum requirement was to resist the invasion of Jardine Matheson.

Because now he has no choice. He only holds a dozen points of shares, and together with the shares of the other three shareholders, he only holds nearly 33% of the shares. How can he compete with Jardine Matheson's 40.7%?

As for selling the shares of China Gas Company, it is not impossible as long as the price is right.

"Yes, I am really sure, but the prerequisite is that you can sell the shares to me. Let me put it this way, to express my sincerity, I can purchase your equity at the share price released by Jardine Matheson today. This is already a great sincerity. If you agree, I can guarantee that Jardine Matheson's press conference today is nothing but a farce. In the afternoon, we will also increase our shareholdings!" Lin Haoran said very confidently.

He holds 19.9% ​​of the shares. If he acquires nearly 33% of the shares held by these people, his shares will exceed 50%. No matter how much trouble Jardine Matheson makes, it will be of no use.

Lin Haoran would not mind the loss as he could successfully control a high-quality listed company like China Gas Company through the premium acquisition.

You know, with just such an energy company, under normal development, its market value can reach more than 100 billion or 200 billion Hong Kong dollars in 30 years, which is enough to show that its potential is not low.

In comparison, before Bao Yugang's share purchase battle in Hutchison Whampoa, the share price that Lin Haoran initially acquired was only 105 to 35 Hong Kong dollars per share. In order to seize Hutchison Whampoa with one thunderous blow, Bao Yugang directly raised the share price to Hong Kong dollars per share. That was real courage. The loss of funds must be calculated in billions. Compared with Lin Haoran's acquisition of China Gas Company at a premium of %, what does it count for?

"Mr. Lin, we can agree to it!" What Lin Haoran did not expect was that Li Mingze actually agreed decisively.

For Li Mingze and others, this may be the best outcome.

When Jardine Matheson launched the "Dawn Assault" operation, they were destined to lose control of the China Gas Company.

In this case, since they have lost their controlling rights, there is not much point in them holding stocks.

Lin Haoran proposed to buy their shares at today's trading price, which they could naturally accept.

They had this idea before they came here, and they even wanted to sell the stocks, but they were worried that Lin Haoran would suppress the stock price.

Unexpectedly, Lin Haoran was so straightforward, so they were naturally straightforward as well.

Seeing that they agreed so readily, Lin Haoran knew that everything he had said before was in vain. These people should have the idea of ​​selling their stocks.

But think about it, given their current situation, they are holding stocks and are about to lose control of the company, so it seems that there is not much point.

If Jardine Matheson takes over the China Gas Company, although there is a board of directors and they have voted on some important decisions, others hold more than 40% of the shares. With this shareholding, it is easy for others to make decisions. If they oppose, they can only create some minor troubles. In the end, Jardine Matheson will still find a way to handle it.

"What about you? Do you all agree?" Lin Haoran looked at the other three shareholders.

"If Mr. Li agrees, we will naturally agree too. We have always been a united front in decision-making." A shareholder said with a smile.

"In that case, let's get this done today. Everyone, wait here for a while while I draft the contract." Lin Haoran said with a smile. "Okay." Li Mingze and the others said softly.

At this moment, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Although they lost their shares in China Gas Company, they gained considerable benefits. With this money, they can also join forces to control other listed companies.

Moreover, it can also prevent the China Gas Company from becoming a British-owned enterprise, which is also good news, as it will not let them lose face.

Lin Haoran and Chen Shoulin walked out of the office and finally came to the legal department.

"Mr. Chen, I have decided to buy all of their shares. However, I know that given the current situation of the Hong Kong Electric Group, it is definitely not suitable to take over all of them. I will buy the other part with my own money. So now the Hong Kong Electric Group can increase its holdings, and the rest will be taken care of by me. How many shares do you think the Hong Kong Electric Group should increase its holdings? No matter how many shares the Hong Kong Electric Group holds, I have decided that China Gas Company will be under the Hong Kong Electric Group in the future and become a listed subsidiary of the Hong Kong Electric Group. You will be in full charge of China Gas Company!" After sitting down, Lin Haoran talked about this matter.

The Hong Kong Electric Group does have a lot of funds, and they are all useful. For example, the joint development of the land in North Point with the Hong Kong Land Group and the joint development of the Jardine's Lookout site with the Wan On Group all require funds. In addition, the Hong Kong Electric Group will have other investments in the future, and it is impossible to use all the funds to purchase shares in China Gas Company.

When Chen Shoulin heard that Lin Haoran was going to hand over the controlling stake of China Gas Company to Hong Kong Electric Group, he was delighted. This would directly greatly increase the strength of Hong Kong Electric Group!

Today, HK Electric Group holds a total of 12.3% of China Gas Company shares, which is not a small amount.

"Boss, I think there is absolutely no problem in increasing the shareholding ratio to about 20%. If it is too much, it will have a certain impact on the group's funds." Chen Shoulin was familiar with the group's situation, so he quickly gave his thoughts.

"Okay, then let's increase it to 20%. The four of them should hold 32.9% or nearly 33% of the shares. The Hong Kong Electric Group will increase its holdings by another 7.7%. I will let Universal Investment Company and Wan'an Group divide the rest. In this way, the Hong Kong Electric Group will be the major shareholder, and it will be well deserved to control China Gas Company!" Lin Haoran made the decision quickly.

Whether it is Wan'an Group or Huanyu Investment Company, they are all his private enterprises, and there is no difference between the corporate shareholdings and his own shareholdings.

And he can make the decision for both companies.

So, with the help of the group's legal advisor, several contracts were quickly drafted.

In the contract, Hong Kong Electric Group, Universal Investment Company and Wan'an Group signed stock transfer contracts with Li Mingze and four others respectively.

To this end, the Hong Kong Electric Group once again spent HK$6160 million to acquire 7.7% of China Gas Company shares. At this point, the Hong Kong Electric Group held a total of 20% of the shares.

As for Huanyu Investment Company, it originally owned 7.6% of the shares, and in this equity division feast, it obtained another 10% of the shares, and finally held a total of 17.6%.

Wanan Group obtained the remaining 15.2%.

The 10% stake in Huanyu Investment Company and the 15.2% stake in Wan'an Group were actually all privately funded by Lin Haoran. In the end, he personally needed to spend 2 million Hong Kong dollars for this transaction.

Although the expenditure was not small, Lin Haoran was very satisfied as China Gas Company finally got it.

The three companies controlled by Lin Haoran ultimately held a total of 52.8% of the shares of China Gas Company.

With more than 50% of the shares held, no matter how much Jardine Matheson increases its stake, it will be of no use. Their announcement this afternoon will ultimately become a farce.

Moreover, since part of the shares are held by Hong Kong Electric Group, no acquisition and merger compliance will be triggered.

In addition, as a public utility company, Towngas is guided and supervised by the Hong Kong government, so it is not easy to privatize it.

Therefore, there is absolutely no problem for Lin Haoran to hold shares through three companies now, and the Hong Kong Electric Group is not his private enterprise. The Hong Kong Electric Group's holdings in China Gas Company does not necessarily mean that Lin Haoran holds shares in China Gas Company.

"Mr. Li, and everyone else, it's already evening, so the fund transfer issue will have to wait until tomorrow. You will receive the money by tomorrow afternoon at the latest." After signing the contract, Lin Haoran said with a smile.

"We are not in a hurry about this, Mr. Lin. Both sides are very satisfied with this cooperation and look forward to more cooperation opportunities in the future." Li Ming said with a hearty smile.

"Of course, I also look forward to more opportunities for cooperation. You are all seniors in the business world, and I still have a lot to learn from you." Lin Haoran responded modestly.

He and Li Ming facilitated this transaction, and it also strengthened their personal connections.

It is not far from the day when Li Xiaohe passes away in June.

At that time, if Lin Haoran wants to acquire TVB’s shares, he will still need Li Mingze’s help.

As the patriarch of the Li family, Li Mingze obviously has great prestige in the Li family. Relying on him, it should not be difficult to take over the shares held by Li Xiaohe's descendants.

Moreover, he also learned in his previous life that the reason Run Run Shaw was able to take charge of TVB was because Li Xiaohe's children had no intention of taking charge of TVB, which gave Run Run Shaw such a good opportunity.

Otherwise, if the Lee family wanted to continue to control TVB, Run Run Shaw would have no chance of taking over TVB.

(End of this chapter)